Troy - ancient ruins, 9 cities, one on top of the other, dating back to 3000 BC & replica Trojan horse

Aegean Coast

Roman ruins of Pergamum and Ephesus

Pamukkale thermal pools and Roman Hierapolis

Turkish carpet weaving and leather manufacturing houses.

Age Policy

16 years with an accompanying adult

Destinations visited

Turkey

Europe

Tags

Small Group

Cultural

Singles

History

Day 1: Istanbul

Saturday. Welcome to Turkey! Arrive Istanbul and included transfer to our hotel. Spend the afternoon at leisure or head out to explore the city. This evening our tip filled welcome meeting takes place.

Day 2: Istanbul

Istanbul. This morning we enjoy a guided tour of Istanbul's old city. Our tour includes visits to the stunning Blue Mosque famed for it’s blue Iznik tiles and unique 6 minarets, the ruinous Hippodrome – now a small park of sorts and once scene of chariot races and political activities in Byzantine times, Hagia Sofia Museum - constructed as a Basilica in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian, Topkapi Palace and the Underground Cistern – an ancient underground water tank - replete with carved and fluted Corinthian columns and a puzzling head of Medusa. Visitors walk on walkways suspended above the shallow water. It’s very cool and peaceful.

Day 3: Gallipoli

( overnight in Gallipoli region)Istanbul – Gallipoli.
Early this morning, we travel to the WW1 battlefields of Gallipoli. Here, we’ll embark upon a guided tour of the region, once the site of fierce fighting and today almost hauntingly beautiful, with its wooded landscape dotted with understated memorials to the war dead. Our guided tour of the region will take in sights such as ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine Australian War Memorial and cemetery, Chunuk Blair New Zealand War Memorial and cemetery, the Nek, Johnston’s Jolly and the many fortified trenches still clearly visible amongst the scrub after all these years.

Crossing the Dardenelles by ferry (offering panoramic views of the entire Gallipoli Peninsular) we proceed to our hotel for a little rest and relaxation.

Day 4: Troy & Kusadasi

Gallipoli – Kusadasi. Heading south, we enjoy a guided tour of Homer’s Troy, famed for the Trojan wooden horse and fabled Helen. Continuing to ancient Pergamum - the cultural and political capital of its time, before continuing onto coastal Kusadasi. Make the most of the hotel facilities this evening.

Day 5: Ancient Ephesus

Today, we enjoy a guided tour at the legendary Roman ruins of Ephesus. Positively the best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean, and among the best places in the world to get a feel for what Roman life must have been like. Ephesus, under the Romans was a vast city with a population nearing 250,000. It became the Roman capital of Asia Minor. We’ll have plenty of time to tour the marble ruins of Ephesus. Be sure to see the famous Library of Celcus, the gymnasium of Vedius and Stadium, the great theatre and stroll the streets in the ruins of this large Roman ruined city. It’s completely fascinating. We’ll see public toilets, a brothel, fountains and various temples. Carpet weaving has long traditions in Turkey and afterward we stop to watch a demonstration of how they are made.

Day 6: Pamukkale

( overnight in Public bus/coach)Kusadasi - Pamukkale - Istanbul. Today, after breakfast, we drive to Pamukkale visiting the region’s famed calcium rich terraced pools. Known locally as the Cotton Castles, they are a natural phenomena and gift of Mother Nature.

Pamukkale was formed when warm, calcium rich mineral water cascaded over the cliff edge, cooling and depositing in the process. The calcium built natural shelves and pools on the cliffs, known as travertines. Today, some of the pools are closed. However, areas of the travertines can be walked upon, albeit in bare feet. We can however opt to enjoy a unique and very pleasant dip in the warm waters at the Pamukkale Thermal, with its submerged fragments of fluted marble columns in the centre of the ruined spa town of Hierapolis, which was a was a cure centre founded around 190 BC by the Romans.

At approx 10:30pm this evening we bid farewell to our guide and travel by overnight bus to Istanbul.

Day 7: Istanbul

Friday. Arrive Istanbul early this morning (approx 8 - 8:30am) where our representative will be waiting to meet you. We transfer to a nearby hotel where our luggage can be stored till our airport transfer to Ataturk International Airport depart later in the day (11am and 1:30pm). Consider heading out to one of the local cafes for a hearty breakfast followed by a visit to the Egyptian Spice market or the legendary, if cavernous Grand Bazaar - boasting some 4000 shops under one immense roof. The Grand Bazaar is just the ticket for souvenir, clothing, scarves, brassware, silver and handbag purchases.

Note: Please ensure you book an international flight departing Istanbul after 1pm, allowing for bus delays and time travelling between the bus station and the airport. Alternatively, you could choose to extend your stay by purchasing an additional nights hotel accommodation.

5 breakfasts

5 nights 4 star hotels

1 overnight public bus journey - Pamukkale - Istanbul

Airport arrival transfer on day 1 and departure transfer (to Ataturk International Airport) at 11am and 1:30pm on day 7

NB - the following are not included:

-Tip for your tour guide and driver. We recommend you allow $3 - 5 USD per day, per traveller as a tip for your guide and $2 USD per day for your driver. Tipping your guide and driver is an entirely personal gesture.-International flights and visa-Entrance Fees: USD$85-95, paid in local currency

Faisal Amin 25-Apr-2017

It was my 1st experience with On the Go tours and it was fabulous tour and tour guider "Esra" got good knowledge about wherever we visited sites in turkey.I will recommend on the go tours to everyone.

Rating: 5/5

Ken Meehan 15-Aug-2016

This tour was well organised and well run. Borhan (I think that is the correct spelling) was extremely knowledgeable and very informative. Mustafah, the driver, was an excellent driver and joined in with the group when he could. His 'disco' drive-bys were hilarious.
I would recommend this tour to everyone!

Rating: 5/5

Gregory Kemp 02-Jul-2016

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Turkey. Our guide Reggie was most personable, approachable and knowledgeable. Small tour group of about 12 made for a good group who travelled well together through some spectacular historic sights. Hotels were of an excellent standard and we were most appreciative of a temporary room in Pammukkale, to have a quick shower and ready ourselves for a pick up to the Denizli International Airport . Hotels were generally within easy walking distance to the town and restaurants. We were given enough time to walk around the sights but would have liked have more time at Ephesus. We found the travel times between sights a little long, but understand this was beyond OTG's control. This would be a factor in choosing land tours in the future. All in all a great tour and we would certainly consider booking with OTG in the future. Thank you Reggie for a memorable tour of Turkey

Rating: 5/5

Susan Peatey 26-Jun-2016

Both the tour and especially our guide, Burhan, were fabulous. Burhan could not have been more organized, more supportive, more generous with his time nor more knowledgeable about every aspect of our tour. This was our first with On The Go and it won't be our last .

Rating: 4/5

Palesa Dikgale 19-Dec-2015

I must say I was not looking forward to this trip because I was travelling alone but our Tour Guide and the group I met made it a pleasant one.
I really enjoyed my stay in Turkey and the tour itself from beginning to end.
I will definitely be doing another tour with on the go in the near future.
By the way Burchan is THE best tour guide..

Rating: 5/5

Sharna Burgess 29-Sep-2015

Recep is so helpful, passionate and educational. The best tour leader I have ever had!

Rating: 5/5

Mark and Andrea Folkard 26-Sep-2015

Tour was excellent absolutely fantastic we will definitely visit Turkey again. We particularly want to vote for our amazing tour guide Recep Aydin. His knowledge was brilliant, his attention to detail and care for his group was appreciated and respected. He is a really nice person and he deserves to win tour guide of the year for Turkey. We wish him the best of luck for the future.

Rating: 4/5

Rosemary Morison 25-Sep-2015

Recap was very knowledgeable about the places we visited. Everything was well organized and worked like clockwork. He was friendly and always willing to assist all the travellers. I greatly enjoyed the tour. He is the best tour guide I have ever encountered.

Rating: 5/5

Nicole Long 01-Jun-2015

This was an amazing trip and everything was great. This was my first group tour trip as a single traveler and I am already starting to think about my next trip later this year because it was so fun and learned so much about turkey largely thanks to my tour guide. This trip was very important to me and it 100 percent exceeded my expectation. Thank you so much!!!

Rating: 5/5

Michael Clements 16-Jan-2015

Did everything it said it would, good pace, nice accommodation and coach with wifi etc. Group was more mature than expected. Saw enough of sights of Turkey but missed out on Capaodcia (I realise this is available on the 10 day Turkey tour!) Overnight bus back was a strange way to end tour, would have preferred coach/private transfer as previously.

Rating: 4/5

Vicki Demel 04-Dec-2014

The tour was fantastic! I really enjoyed meeting the other travelers and we saw some amazing sights. Our guide was very informative.

Rating: 5/5

Maree Van Dyk 19-Nov-2014

I spoke to my client and they have traveled quit a lot over the years. This was the best trip by far for them. Everything was exciting the tour guide was amazing and very informative. They enjoyed every second of the trip. They will recommend ON THE GO to all their friends and family.

Rating: 5/5

Gary De Sa' 29-Oct-2014

Sedat was absolutely amazing. He was well informed on everything that he told us about the areas we covered.
He was very accommodating for bathroom breaks and making sure we were not on the bus for too long periods of time.
He made it feel as if we were a group of friends travelling versus random people from all walks of life listening to a man that is just doing this for his pay.
It was a pleasure meeting Sedat and doing the Aegean Explorer tour with him.
One of my best parts is even the use of words he used when wanting to take photographs.
He would say "Is everyone ok to take our FAMILY photo in this area" The personal touch by using one word made all the difference.
I wish Sedat the very best with his career and I truly believe he should be in the running for top tour award.
You are a great person...its crazy! can you believe it? (He would know what is meant by these)

Rating: 5/5

Dennis Fearnley 13-Oct-2014

We enjoyed the tour very much, found all the places visited of interest and well explained by our guide. The visit to Galipoli was a worthwhile experience, and had extra significance due to the centinary in 2015. We found the Turkish memorial worth a visit, and well frequented by many Turkish people. The guide had a wealth of information about all places visited, provided appropriate level of information, but could always add more when asked specific questions.

Rating: 4/5

David Pretorius 24-Sep-2014

The tour was great but a little bit hectic - really on the go every day. The hotels were good, except for Hotel Alisha. It was atrocious, filthy and dirty and one couldn't eat the food, it was that bad. Kamel was a great tour guide and I would really recommend him for any tour.

Rating: 4/5

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You will have the option to book your own flights independently with the operator.

Why On The Go Tours?

Group tours are their speciality. It's what they do well. They started with one trip to Egypt and their Middle East and North Africa portfolio now includes Jordan, Israel and Morocco. Featuring exotic destinations in Europe like Turkey, Iceland, Croatia & Russia, and the colourful countries of India, Sri Lanka and Nepal in the subcontinent, they're now very much a Southeast Asia specialist too, with Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand proving very popular. Japan was recently added as a group touring destination to complement China in the Far East. And Peru, Costa Rica and Mexico are their top picks in Latin America.

Visiting exotic far flung places across the globe, their group tours, which generally consist of between 16-18 people, strike a balance between well-planned itineraries which include key highlights and spare time to do your own thing as well. They include unique travel experiences and there’s lots of real local interaction too, giving you a true flavour of the countries you visit. They organise everything to make your holiday seamless; your transportation, complimentary airport transfers, sightseeing, guiding and some meals. Your tour will be lead by their expert and passionate tour leaders. Captivating, informative and caring, they will ensure your holiday is fun and hassle-free. And, with international English speaking guests and no upper age limit, their tours make for a really fun, unique and eclectic group mix.